Maya - The Veil of Illusion

In this video we explore the core Vedanta idea of maya and how it hides from us the unity of Brahman-Atman.

[@kenanklovitch8117]

Peter you are without any question the clearest speaking spiritual teacher I have ever come across. Thank you.

[@PeterBolland]

Ken, you are too kind. Thank you so much!

[@WordSmooth]

"There is no us vs. them. There's just us. Not only am I my brother's keeper; I am my brother." May we awaken.

[@MrMRICH12345]

This was absolutely amazing. Can’t remember the last time I was fully engaged in a longer youtube video like this. Music to my ears. Great video!

[@PeterBolland]

Wow, thank you! 🙏🏼

[@Vlog-hu8gb]

You are such a great spiritual investigator and I wish more people would listen to you. That said, someday a lot more people will see the brilliance of your narrative that you were one of the best English speaking guy to define Maya in English. What I like most is your peaceful demeanour, childish innocence and curiosity. You must have had a great life to maintain that till this age. Can you make a video of your life that led you to this graceful, non dogmatic personality

[@PeterBolland]

Vlog, what a lovely comment! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙏🏼

[@swindler1570]

You're an entertaining, well spoken, intelligent explainer with a solid rational grounding, able to step in and out of the mindsets appropriate to a given philosophy; happily subbed.

[@PeterBolland]

Why thank you!

[@aarongibson3917]

I've heard this explained a number of ways but never this coherent. Thank you kind sir 🙏

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you Aaron!

[@DoctorMaya7]

Great to watch your Vedic. My work is called MAYA, because people must "Remove the Veil of Illusion" that "Doctors save their life, and start listening to their "Athma", seek the truth, know the truth and stop believing the lies.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you for watching! And for your kind words. 🙏🏼

[@R247Success]

This is my favorite spiritual channel. I will definitely keep watching

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@rasthana]

Very lucid explanation of such a subtle concept. Brilliant. Well done Sir.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you sir! 🙏🏼

[@karamjitgaddu8015]

No body has told us shape and form of maya.they are keeping us in ignorance.

[@martinmuller3244]

We really only have two things of pure spirit that make up reality: Our input of sense data (in the truely extended sense - any physics experiment) and our idea of what that sense data should be. The trick is to bring them into alignment; a kind of stillness. So ultimate reality as we perceive it seems to be that harmony. It does not help to reframe matter into energy. Energy is as measureable as matter. So from a physicist's point of view energy is as real as matter, and actually of the same nature. The rounding down into nothing of stuff is sacrilige to a physicist. It is in the end how setup of experiment relates to outcome of experiment that matters, and weather the numbers match what nature does.

[@ALOK-pe5fp]

These philosophy I heard first when I was in grade 5 through every day prayer ( Hindu)of my father ( he often say maya in that) I found your teaching helpful

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@RajSingh-xn8qd]

Another great explanation. You have truly grasped the deepest insights of the sages and i love you how you teach by examples and analogies just like the Vedic sages did. I understand Maya as a simultaneous condition of existence. If you turn on torch light, it simultaneously projects rays outwards. Those at the distant periphery of the source of those rays see it as point, like we see the countless suns in the sky as points that we call stars. This exemplifies the the vedantic concept of Maya as having two having two powers: projecting and concealing and ultimately Maya is the power of Brahman. Like rays of the sun. I have now come to realise that consciousness and the field of consciousness or Maya are concomitant, they simultaneously arise. Because there is nothing there is everything. The answer to why there is something rather than nothing.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you! And beautifully said. 🙏🏼

[@alienrs5655]

When I was about 7 I often used to wonder if other people really existed seperate of me. Fast forward 20 something years Im beginning to hear the silence in me and everywhere else and it was the "I" not "me". Its almost as if I knew the truth but somehow it was forgotten through the process.

[@macbcheesy1364]

"The idea of Maya 'is a distortion of fitting universality to individuality (in the broadest sense)'" A paraphrase. That's powerful. Thoughts??

[@josie_hall_ayurveda]

This blows my mind

[@PeterBolland]

Mine too!

[@user-iv6te4dl4z]

Amazing!! May God bless you 🙏 ❤️ ✨️

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@princetomar1079]

In hindi we say this phrase (maya marhi na mann mua marri -marri gya sarier) which literally means, not maya die or nor mind(desire) but our body have been dying..

[@JunKing1]

Maya can be overcomed. Either by self realization or by renouncing the world and living a pure life.

[@saketsaurav5790]

Yes.. you are absolutely right, Maya is not an evil idea. It's called "creative power of brahman". Well such a nice presentation of vedantic philosophy in simple words yet very inspiring. Appreciation for wonderful lecture video series with very good quality contents. You have an erudite personality sir... Keep on sharing your profound knowledge and experience. All the best.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much Saket. I really appreciate it.

[@rosyloveslearning3013]

That was beautiful. Very helpful. Thank you. ❤

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@naughtygodz1559]

You are awesome ❤❤❤❤

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much!

[@sant.76]

Today I stared watching your video in the morning, it's going to be next day morning 😊

[@PeterBolland]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@KrishGandhi787]

One way to describe brahman-atman is from full metal alchemist “THE ONE IS ALL AND THE ALL IS ONE”

[@Skg2207]

Thanks from the heart, I was looking for this since long. I have to watch more and more of this. Again thank you so much.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much Shailender!

[@nathalielyttle]

Great video!

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@kamilla1111]

I wish I heard this explanation about Maya few years back. I went through some kind of hell trying to figure out and meditate it all away. Real depression set in for a bit. 2 years of intense seeking got me out of the rut. Everyone should hear this wisdom. May be Im just thick, but I did demonize this Devine play for awhile. Thank you for this video! I love your channel.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much for sharing your story! 🙏🏼

[@Vlog-hu8gb]

Everything you percieve or can be percieved is maya, even your aversion of maya is maya. Beyond maya is the reality, timelessness, spacelessness and stillness of Brahman

[@randywest4831]

I thourghly enjoyed this. I just stumbled on you because I was trying to explain this concept to a freind. Thank you, I will be looking at your other videos as well!!

[@PeterBolland]

Thanks so much Randy, for watching and for commenting. Go to my channel's home page and start with the playlists -- that way the videos play in order.

[@seedat2006]

Very well explained , concise and to the point...Namaste

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you Lloyd!

[@Buddha98]

Very beautifully explained. U definitely should have been more views 🙏🏽

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much!

[@kfwimmer]

You are really good!

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you Karl!

[@erinmilitello7748]

I am so thrilled to have stumbled upon your channel! These videos are brilliant and your passion for this subject is absolutely contagious! Where were u when I was in college???

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much! 🙏🏼

[@yousofk264]

You are fantastic! What a clear explanation. Thank you!

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much Yousof! I appreciate your kind words.

[@Stewpidasso3]

Awesome video man, watched this after watching a video on the philosopher Arthur.... (not going to attempt to butcher his last names spelling.) You should have a lot more views than this. It's really easy and interesting to hear you talk.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you so much Evan! There are a LOT more videos like this on my channel. 🙏🏼

[@bajajones5093]

should be one million views.

[@PeterBolland]

Why thank you!

[@nijinskihind]

this is helpful and practical. Thank you.

[@PeterBolland]

Glad it was helpful!

[@arzoo_singh]

Very true. You want to understand Hinduism focus on Brahman, Atman. What about 1000000 God's, also true. There is duality and non duality it's complex discussion but please focus on Brahman Atman and maya. Maya could be loosely translated as illusion, false perception, dream

[@sven888]

Very good.

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@chriss6136]

The statue behind you on the right of the bowman, what does it depict/represent? My Grandfather had the same one in his apartment! It's in my living room now, I had to do a double take when I saw it behind you haha. Thank you for the video!

[@PeterBolland]

Chris, mine was a gift too--from one of my students who served in the military overseas and brought it home from Asia, then realized he didn't really have room for it, so he gave to his world religions teacher. Cool! He is Lord Rama, one of the most significant avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu (along with Krishna). Here's a little more details: www.britannica.com/topic/Sita

[@animax1034]

That statue behind holding bow on one foot is a Hindu Kshatriya (warrior) Arjuna using Brahmastra (nuclear weapon)

[@erinmilitello7748]

Also, I think I speak for everyone when I ask what are your personal beliefs Peter? Which ideas do u subscribe to?

[@PeterBolland]

Erin, my views are hard to pin down. Perhaps the word "panoramic" fits best. In more technical terms, I'm an agnostic Christian-Hindu-Buddhist-Daoist panentheist mystic with big love for Kabbalah, Zen, and the Sufis. I love the Christian mystics--they softened my long-held resistance to Christianity, and in fact, for the last few years I've been an Episcopalian. I really enjoy the formal ritual and liturgy, blended with the Progressive theology and liberal social justice emphasis Episcopalians are known for. I think of it as liberal Christianity for over-educated people. But the fact of the matter is I love all religious traditions and spiritual stances, while loathing institutional coercion and theological arrogance. My favorite people are humble, passionate, awake, alive, kind, and curious. So I aspire to be that. Some days I even get close. How about you Erin--where are you at on the ideological spectrum these days?

[@MarioGonzalez-mx3mk]

Great short presentation...Now how long will it take to take this to the masses succesfully...Thank You.!

[@PeterBolland]

Thank you Mario! 🙏🏼

[@saratsaratchandran3085]

Jung was a Sanatani who went on to write about collective consciousness. Although he followed Fraudian psychology he inculcated theEastern thoughts to it and made Jungian psychology!

[@PeterBolland]

Interesting take!

[@ba_shiva]

Beautiful and concise explanation! Thank you 🙏🏾 one question though, is there any explanation as to why maya was woven by Vishnu to begin with? Or is it more of an ongoing independent puzzle to be solved by each piece of Brahman as an individual “game” of awakening? Thanks 🙏🏾

[@PeterBolland]

Janeiro, you have asked THE great question, not only about Maya, but about all world religions and mythologies -- WHY? If everything out here in the fragmented world came from the One, why did the One split itself up? And why do we humans live in a state of imperfect knowing, lost in a fog of illusion? Of course there is no answer. But we can approach it this way -- that when the Formless Infinite took form here in the temporal realm, It necessarily shattered into fragmentation, the same way white light, when passing through a prism, splits up into the different colors. Perhaps human consciousness is the "prism" through which the singularity of God scatters into a million, seemingly irreconcilable pieces. That is why we close our eyes, grow still, and in the depths of our own consciousness beneath the waves of the thought stream, we begin to Realize that We Are That. So it's key to remember that maya is not evil, or a mistake -- it is an inevitable distortion that arise when the One becomes the many.

[@ba_shiva]

@@PeterBolland So intriguing! And I think that, that ability you speak of to realize our true nature as the One is enough to suffice the question as to why the One would split itself as we actually aren’t split at all! Amazing, thank you for sharing your knowledge and replying!

[@keithstump1712]

What is the mechanism of maya? Where and how does it arise? Why do we all see the same illusion?

[@PeterBolland]

Keith, you are asking some really great questions here!

[@scotwells7573]

If reality is an illusion it is a creel illusion for many.

[@PeterBolland]

It's hard to disagree with that.

[@Vlog-hu8gb]

Maya is the Matrix, an animation character is as much a living being as you are.

[@mdas5990]

you got it .

[@jaishivjibhagwaan]

Wow....talk about brain explosion

[@canjian1783]

Isn't the brain specifically itself and biology in general all part of Maya?

[@PeterBolland]

I suppose all of the three-dimensional embodied world is.

[@canjian1783]

@@PeterBolland : It never cease to amuse me how people reflect on Maya and how perceived reality is an illusion, but then hold up the brain and the central nervous system as responsible for creating this illusion. The very artifice whose reality is questioned is held up as being responsible for creating the artifice, it's bizarre.

[@pgvideos4873]

Maya is like matrix... As in the movie

[@PeterBolland]

For sure, but without the sinister, evil, alien overlords enslaving us as batteries.

[@RT-oc6iu]

Search crater earth and then you’ll understand what the veil of illusion truly is, if your ego doesn’t get in the way that is.

[@PeterBolland]

That stuff about Putin being a secret British agent carrying out the secret plan cooked up by the British royal family to rule all of earth? Or is this a flat earth thing? Or an underground civilization of lizard people thing? Or that stuff about all alleged space travel having been faked? You're going to have to be more specific.

[@dragonjay7277]

I entered a state of derealization, I feel so out of reality even tho I'm conscious that I'm real it feels like I'm not real, and this is not likeable because I feel like I'm in a shadow like im in between ego and my real self, I feel like the truth is hidden but this state started after I decided to crumble my last ego identities. I feel so confused and I don't have any sense of time or space, even if someone replies to this comment I might not even know...please help or like I want to hear someone who got through this state in ego death phase.

[@dragonjay7277]

Thinking everything is an illusion in the ego world, kinda made me enter this derealization phase.

[@PeterBolland]

It sounds like it may be time for a long walk on the beach, or in the woods, or in the garden. Touch the earth. "Maya" does not mean that everything is fake, or that the ego is fake. We exist--that is undeniable. And finally, commit an act of service for another. Cook someone a great meal. I love philosophy, but it's time to get back into our bodies, and our hearts, and into this miracle of being alive.

[@dragonjay7277]

@@PeterBolland i know these, but i dont want to function out of egoic self, therefore this state, but is there a way to function out of pure self and to dissolve the ego and also not get into these weird mind states?

[@parisjej]

I can’t possibly be my abusive ex husband who keeps harassing me bc I don’t want to be with him anymore. This can’t be it!!

[@Tiffanysmith339]

Are your parents Maya too

[@PeterBolland]

Yes and no.

[@Tiffanysmith339]

@@PeterBolland how its yes and no

[@xp_money7847]

​@@Tiffanysmith339 his parents are brahman so no they are not maya. The fact that we perceive them as different to Self, then yes the term parents is maya.

[@ritamray1897]

May be we can also say the ever changing phenomenon is Maya, if it were to be constant it would be brahman , isn't it? But change is the only constant in the entire universe, so Maya and brahman are inseperable,indistinguishable,oxymoronic!!!

[@PeterBolland]

That is the paradox isn't it, that changelessness and change arise from the same source. That's why the conceptual mind is ill-equipped to understand or solve these puzzles. It's simply the wrong tool.

[@ritamray1897]

@@PeterBolland I sometimes believe that the limitation is in the human brain, it is not that developed to fully understand all the secrets of nature.

[@adarshsoni5323]

How brahman as we got trapped into maya. brahman can't be deduled by maya illusion.

[@xp_money7847]

Maya is brahman too!

[@adarshsoni5323]

@@xp_money7847 brahman trapped by brahman 😂😂😂 funny

[@xp_money7847]

@@adarshsoni5323 thats why maybe its called the creative power or leela

[@naughtygodz1559]

As above so below.. on earth 🌎 As it is in heaven 👁️ As Enoch AKA man ascended he was introduced to the Angels 😇 no angles astrology as above so below as within so without your reality 👁️ Once Enoch Master IT he became Metatron AKA Life is metaphysical 👁️ The planet And Stars placement at the time of incarnation into flesh 6 protons 6 electrons 6 neutrons matter skin not Sin Mark of the beast... flesh ♥️

[@user-gp1zy3up7y]

sorry, I don't agree when you take name of all prophets of other religions. Vedic Dharma is completely different than other middle east religions. Hope you've read their text and Upnishads. they are no way nearer to Shrimad Bhadvad Gita. Upnishads are far away.